NRK, the Norwegian national broadcaster, is reporting that the Eurovision 2026 participation fees for the broadcasters will not increase despite several countries pulling out from the contest.
In the wake of a number of broadcasters withdrawing from the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 in Vienna due to Israel’s participation in the contest, NRK reached out to the EBU in order to shed more light on the matter and to learn how this would affect the participation fees of the competing broadcasters.
The EBU has confirmed to the Norwegian national broadcaster that the Eurovision 2026 participation fees will not increase for the competing broadcasters at Eurovision 2026 as a result of countries withdrawing.
The EBU is expecting circa 35 countries to compete at the Eurovision Song Contest in Austria next year, after the withdrawal of four countries: Spain, Slovenia, The Netherlands and Ireland.
The EBU gave the following statement to NRK:
Preliminary fees were communicated to interested member broadcasters in September. We can confirm that no broadcaster will pay more to participate in next year’s competition as a result of countries withdrawing,
While a small number of member broadcasters may not join us in 2026, we expect around 35 broadcasters to participate.
Eurovision 2026
So far 34 countries have confirmed their participation at the forthcoming Eurovision Song Contest 2026, we are yet awaiting for Armenia and Iceland to confirm their participation at ESC 2026. Iceland is expected to make its decision wether it will compete in Vienna or withdraw from the competition on Wednesday 10th December.
The EBU has extended the ESC 2026 confirmation deadline for the competing broadcasters until mid December. The official list of the Eurovision 2026 participating countries will be released by the EBU before Christmas.
